Designing Effective Programs
The needs and capacities of your partner venues and the scope of your own resources will determine what kinds of programs work best. There is no one-size-fits-all community program. Regardless of their size and scope, however, all successful community work embodies certain principles:
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Artists, staff, leaders at partner venues, and participants are all invited to join in the collaborative work that is Musical Connections and are all affected by it. Watch their testimonies here.
Adaptability
Musical programming of this kind can take many forms and generally takes place in settings that are far from typical concert halls. The projects with the best outcomes are those that are appropriate to the venue and that carefully consider the circumstances and capabilities of the residents.
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How do you create a program that relates to your audience? Musical Connections artist Camille Zamora shares one idea.
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"Threshold-to-Threshold" Design
There is no performance stage and no backstage at a Musical Connections event. Rather, there is an interactive performance experience that begins when artists arrive and doesn't end until they leave the building.
A Musical Connections program isn't over until its strengths and weaknesses have been evaluated and documented by all involved: the artists and other members of the presenting team, the participating venue, and, if possible, outside consultants.
External Partnership
How do you forge partnerships with the government agencies and social service providers in your locale? If you are to implement this kind of community work, partnering with these kinds of external organizations is vital.
Successful community work begins with careful selection of host venues, weighing not just how the venue will benefit from Musical Connections, but how each partnership can contribute to the evolution of your community work. Here are some questions to ask when evaluating a partner venue:
- • Will this venue offer us an opportunity to serve a broad range of constituents?
- • Will this venue offer our artists opportunities to explore different types of interactions and develop a range of skills to support their work in diverse settings?
- • Will this venue allow us to learn as much as possible about the systems in which we plan to work?
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Musical Connections performances help to take care of the caretakers; they affect venue staff as well as those sitting in the audience.
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- • Does this venue, added to others, give us the right geographical mix?
- • What kinds of programs are appropriate for this venue?